January 2009
26 posts
Gov. Quinn: "The people of Illinois want us to be...
Via Progress Illinois, comments from our new Governor:
“You know, Afghanistan is a corrupt country but not that corrupt.”
– An Afghan minister to Mark Kirk when he said he represents Illinois (from The Swamp)
Blagojevich is hiring a PR firm
The Tribune is reporting that Blagojevich hired the PR firm The Publicity Agency. Looks like he’s got some appearances set up already:
Blagojevich, who could face a Senate conviction and removal from office next week, is embarking on a high-profile media campaign with scheduled appearances Monday on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and “The View,” followed later...
Where's the outrage?
Michael Miner asks if Chicago is more complacent than other big cities.
It’s a good question.
“It is kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari.”
– Obama spokesman Bill Burton in a WaPo story about how outdated the White House tech and rules are.
Congress gets YouTubed
Congress has created YouTube pages for The House and Senate - you can pick out individual congresspeople’s pages on a Google map. Interesting to see who is on and who isn’t, and what they choose to put up there.
YouTube Now Mutes Videos With Unauthorized... →
This is interesting. I can’t figure out why old media companies, who are supposed to figure out how to make money, can’t figure out how to monetize user-generated stuff like this instead of making it significantly less fun.
“But why is Preckwinkle looking to leave the 4th Ward just as the Olympic Games...”
– Ramsin Canon asks a good quesiton at Gapers Block.
“Are people ready to move from green gadgetry to a green way of life?”
– That’s the big question at the end of this article in Tribune Magazine that looks at the importance of the Burnham Plan and big ideas for the city’s future. Definitely worth a read.
Tribune to launch tabloid for newsstands →
Hm. What about Redeye?
Ald. Preckwinkle will run for Cook County Board...
Greg Hinz is reporting that Ald. Toni Preckwinkle will challenge Todd Stroger. Forrest Claypool is saying he’ll decide whether or not he’s running in the Summer.
Do no harm?
A Times Online story looks at the environmental impact of Google searches.
New Chicago media blog
Lewis Lazare, the guy in the bow tie who covers advertising and now media for the Sun-Times, now has a blog called Media and Marketing Mix.
Ossama's becomes Obama's
NPR’s All Things Considered interviewed the propietor of Obama’s Hair Design, only a couple doors down from the VDC offices. They used to be Ossama’s Hair Design - they closed in the Summer and reopened. I’ve not seen too many folks there yet, but I’m due for a haircut and will check it out soon…
Testimonial parties
The Small Business Marketing Blog suggests a testimonial party to get the word out about a company’s product.
Could this work for non profits? It could be as simple as getting a kid with a camera to come to an event you’re going to have anyway and record people saying what a difference you make.
Google Maps: 100+ Best Tools and Mashups →
This is a good list of what folks can do with Google Maps.
Why are there no black Senators?
This is the question numbers wiz Nate Silver explores in an interesting article on his website FiveThirtyEight.com. I wish I had paid better attention in math classes…
Chicago has a new foundation
Crain’s reports on the newest foundation in Chicago, The Butkus Foundation, which will support programs to address the issue of steroid use among high school athletes and of course crown the annual winner of The Butkus Award, given to the best college linebacker every year. The Butkus family won the rights to the award to they can use it to help raise awareness of the steroids issue.
Rosenbaum leaves Tribune
Unfortunately named but pretty useful Twitter feed themediaisdying tweets that Music and Entertainment Editor Emily Rosenbaum has left the Tribune.